Jewel in the Crown
by Tobi Tortue
Summary: After Kikyou's accident, Inuyasha refused to be a jockey. But, he is dragged back into the racing world, where he begins to uncover the mystery surrounding the accident, with help from a girl named Kagome and two thoroughbreds. DISCONTINUED
1. Prologue: A Final Race

Jewel in the Crown

Tobi Tortue

Prologue: A Final Race

The small screen flickered to life as the old VCR reluctantly went to work.

"...medics are on the scene, as are the track vets. Fortunately, it seems that only one jockey was injured, but there are two horses, Yura du Cheveux and Purity Arrow, that may have to be put down today..."

The young and slightly pale woman on the screen looked behind herself briefly, where a small body was being carefully loaded into an ambulance.

_Why did they mention the names of horses, and not hers?_

"The search is now on," she continued in a businesslike manner, "for Inuyasha Takahashi, the jockey who was aboard favorite Phantom Thief Dark."

There was a pause as she was suddenly distracted by a commotion to her right. The cameraman looked too, swinging the camera around a little to quickly. It was now recording a crowd with another ambulance and other small figure was lifted into another ambulance.

_Here it comes..._

"Oh my word!" the reporter cried out, suddenly leaping in front of the camera. "That's him! It appears that Mr. Takahashi is injured as well!" She scooted off into the whispering crowd, followed by her cameraman, and began to interview an older man with an apron full of brushes and hoofpicks.

"Do you have any knowledge of what has taken place here, sir? That's Mr. Inuyasha Takahashi, correct? Do you think his injuries are serious?" she asked, breathlessly awaiting a response from the man, who was obviously a groom.

"He was in the stall with Dark, and I didn't see it happen, but it looks like the horse attacked him. Poor kid, they're all so young, aren't they? I think--" he began, but was cut off as the reporter stepped in front of him with a hurried thanks. Red and blue lights were flashing behind her.

"A tragic day at the track indeed. Two jockeys and two horses are injured." After a quick cut, she appeared outside the racetrack's gates, and started again in her attention-grabbing, authoritative voice.

"Here at Keeneland it is a day of tragedy. One of the most promising horses of the year, Purity Arrow, was just put down after an accident on the track. Jockey Kikyou Mikosan is being taken to Lexington Hospital at this time, yet whether America's favorite woman jockey will ever survive is still unknown."

The light from the small TV bounced across the dark room, as the woman's face disappeared and was replaced by a short video clip.

Twelve young thoroughbreds pounded down the track. The bright bay Purity Arrow topped with red and white silks and the tall black Phantom Thief Dark were neck-and neck, their strides still lengthening.

The reporter's voice seemed to fade away....

Kikyou and Inuyasha pushed their horses down the final stretch. But then....

Phantom Thief Dark suddenly leaned left heavily, right into Kikyou and Purity Arrow, knocking the pair into the rail. The black stallion recovered and galloped on, but Purity Arrow fell.

Kikyou was first pitched into the white rail, then crushed underneath her horse. The rest of the field tried to avoid the fallen pair, but one horse became tangled in Purity Arrow's thrashing legs, and collided with the dirt track. The jockey was thrown to lie just under the rail, and quickly rolled into the safety of the infield. The rest of the horses thundered past.

Then all was quiet. Nothing moved, as the camera zoomed out, taking in the scene. The sound seemed to slowly come back on, although it had never truly been silent.

The room then went completely dark, as golden eyes filled once again with stinging tears. In his self-imposed loneliness, he set down his remote and leaned back into his worn chair. He heard the clicking of the VCR as it ejected the tape.

On that day, five years ago, he had begged her to wake up. When the doctors and nurses thought no one was there, he had whispered into her ears, pleading.

But Kikyou did not wake up, still had not woken up, and Inuyasha's faith in her lay as silent and unmoving as she did.

_What had happened?_


	2. A Life For A Life, or A Career Change

A Life For A Life, or A Career Change

He stood silently among the excited and anxious people at the rail. Straight across from him in his red hooded sweatshirt was where she lost consciousness... and never regained it.

The thunder of hooves and streaks of brown and black flew past him unnoticed, as he focused on holding back a tide of tears.

"Dammit," he swore quietly. Wasn't five years long enough?

He thrust his hands in the pocket of his sweatshirt and turned to leave, his annual visit to Keeneland complete. He pushed through the cheering crowd, bumping into a squat old woman and muttering a quick apology, but stopped as he heard a voice.

"Inuyasha?"

It was the old woman. He tugged at the top of his hood, keeping it firmly over his long white hair, and pretended not to hear her as he walked on through the crowd.

"Inuyasha!" she yelled. Dammit! Couldn't she keep her voice down? And how did she recognize—

Her wrinkled face suddenly appeared directly in front of his, and he cursed his jockey-self's short stature. Then his eyes widened in shock as he recognized the woman in front of him.

"Kaede?" he asked in disbelief.

"So it is you, Inuyasha," she replied knowingly.

He took a closer look at the woman, noticing how more gray speckled her once black hair. Wrinkles had formed on her rather weary and weathered face. She had aged tremendously in the past five years, Kikyou's elder sister.

Inuyasha suddenly swallowed nervously. He did not know how much Kikyou confided in her sister, or what she knew. That was also added to the fact that he had not seen her since the accident, and had no idea how she felt toward the one who was, in essence, the one who caused it.

"Come," she said slowly, perhaps a little carefully. "I believe that we must talk."

Despite being aware that he was probably not making the most intelligent decision, Inuyasha crossed his arms in reluctance and followed Kaede as she moved through the crowd of mostly well-dressed gentlemen and their squealing granddaughters.

The woman led him toward the barns, flashing a kindly smile at a young boyish-looking security guard. The guard straightened and replied with a smile and a nod of his own as the short pair passed.

Once inside the long structure, Inuyasha and Kikyou walked side by side down the aisle in silence. The only sounds came from their echoing footsteps and the soft crunch of horses munching their hay. The two walked quietly until Inuyasha's patience could no longer take it.

After about ten seconds of hushed walking, the former jockey whirled to face the woman.

"Okay, what exactly is it that you want to talk about?" he demanded, causing several horses nearby to stop their peaceful chewing and watch in alarm. His temper flared even more when his eyes met her calm and oh-so-wise expression.

Kaede let his words echo through the barn and waited until most of the horses had gone back to their hay. "I have had this idea for quite some time, Inuyasha. Finally, I have run into you." She paused and looked across to his irate face. "You owe me. You owe me very much." Her voice seemed to be gaining momentum and emotion as she spoke. "You took my precious little sister away from me!"

Inuyasha paled dramatically. He had known Kikyou very well, and if Kaede proved to be similar to her sister, Inuyasha could possibly be in danger. The kind of danger that concerned his life.

He tried to remain calm as his own confused emotions and contradictory emotions created a small tornado. But, as usual, he hid away his sadness, doubt, fear, and confusion behind a mask of anger.

"So get to the point, woman. What do you want?"

Even though the former jockey had decided that the old lady was here for revenge, the answer she gave him still surprised him.

"I am willing to exchange a life for a life," she stated simply. "You took my sister's life from me, and you will exchange it with your own."

"Ha!" Inuyasha laughed. "You're going to try to hurt me?" He snorted arrogantly. "As if you could."

"No, Inuyasha," she countered quickly, "I'm going to convince you that this way is right."

He paused, and curiosity flickered across his features, before he covered it up with an expression of disinterest.

"Because of you, my sister has not moved in five years. Do you know how painful it is to watch her? Stuck, in her coma, in her white hospital bed? My tired spirit seems to die a little more every day."

Inuyasha did not respond. He was certain that no one knew how much he felt that specific pain inside. And despite that he knew _he_ had not hurt her, he still felt crushingly responsible. He let the worn woman continue.

"I know that there was something my sister saw in you, or felt in you...or maybe shared with you...and I don't think that she would want you to be what you've become."

Inuyasha turned to glare fiercely at the woman. He was almost entirely sure that Kikyou would not have wanted him to continue racing. She was after all, the one who had painfully convinced him that....

Kaede put up a wrinkled hand to signal him to calm down, even before he started with his outburst.

"She would have wanted you to keep on winning."

Inuyasha accepted her statement, however untrue the shattered pieces of his heart knew it to be.

"That's why I'm doing what I am.

"I am offering you a way to return to the races, Inuyasha. I still own Mikosan Stables, and several promising horses. You can come back, or rather; you can make your comeback, Inuyasha. I have a colt...you could win again, like she wanted. If you became a jockey again--"

"No," he cut her off abruptly. "I'm not a jockey anymore. I quit doing that."

"Fine then," she continued, keeping the light of hope in her aging voice. "You can work for me anyway. I need another person at the barn who knows horses. I know you know horses. I think you'd still make a find exercise rider...."

His golden eyes looked away from her again. He did not _want_ to be a part of racing again. That would only bring back memories, wouldn't it?

His gaze flicked back to Kaede and her dirty, horsey coat. He took a deep breath and exhaled firmly.

"I'm sorry, Kaede, but my answer remains a no," he said with a deep conviction. The former jockey had made this decision years ago, and although he was not exactly employed anywhere at that moment...no, he would not return to his former occupation. He turned to leave, thrusting his hands into his sweatshirt's pocket. "See ya."

"Wait," the old woman commanded sternly. "You still owe me. You took my sister's life from me, and now you will repay me with your own."

He stopped, and a chill ran over him. He was uncertain as to the extent that Kikyou had confided in her older sister. He did not know how much the old bag knew, and if she knew the truth about him...and if she had certain similarities with her sister.... Besides, she was offering the unemployed man a job. And if he had cared anything for Kikyou, then this was her family, and....

"Fine," he said with his back to her. After a long moment he turned around. "I'll work at your barn." She smiled happily, which caused him to throw the details at her, perhaps in an attempt to send her smile crashing into pieces. But don't expect me to ride. I won't."

She smiled kindly at him. "Don't worry, I won't ask it of you." She tugged her coat closed and said, in a sort of welcoming tone, "Come."

He nodded, hesitated when she turned to walk down the aisle, and then followed.


	3. Kaede's Gift

Kaede's Gift

When his bright eyes opened, he was immediately disoriented. Where the hell was he?

Sitting up, Inuyasha remembered the previous day's events. How he had met Kaede, taken a job as a groom, and wound up sleeping on a cot in the barn--his new residence. He ran a hand through his hair and over one of his furry dog ears. Then, with a sigh, he got out of bed and looked around the room.

Kaede had been nice enough to stop by his apartment to notify his landlord of his departure and to pick up his things, not that he had much. Inuyasha had never been one to have a lot of material possessions, finding early on in his life that he lost those things almost as quickly as he gained them. But the old manager of Mikosan Stables had given him a small room in the barn with some of the young and promising thoroughbreds. It had probably been a tack room at some point, but he did not care. His small 13-inch TV sat in the corner on an old round table with faded, cracking, white paint. There was another, shorter table by the cot, and his black duffel bag was shoved underneath it.

He stretched, and realized that he had slept surprisingly well. Considering that the young horses were usually the ones to cause trouble in the middle of the night, he had an odd feeling that he had been lucky last night. But none of the animals had given him any trouble so far.

Actually, what the hanyou considered most surprising was how many of the horses only moved away to the back of their stalls when he passed, instead of snorting and prancing up a sweat in a state of panic. Although, there had been a few of the horses in the paddocks that had taken off for the other side of the field when he approached.... He sighed. Most animals did not care to differentiate between the scent of a hanyou and that of a full-blooded youkai.

And to think about it, Inuyasha had yet to come across the three barn cats Kaede claimed lived in the barn. Understandably, the cats would not want to get close to a dog demon.

Yet, for the same reason, Kaede's three dogs had slept in his room. At the moment, the brown and black Hachi slept with his back against the crack below the door, while the brothers, Bankotsu and Jakotsu curled up with each other in the corner that lacked furniture. Inuyasha had always felt a kinship with dogs, for obvious reasons.

Glancing at his watch, which was sitting on the small table, he decided to get out of his room and see what life back in the stable would be like.

He stripped off his shirt and found a clean white one in his bag as his mind continued to wander. It had been five years since she had...just five short years. And actually, five years was a very short amount of time, especially to Inuyasha. Why, the hanyou could still easily remember his life in Japan, which ended 50 years ago. Inuyasha's age was really much higher than what anyone he met expected. He was, in fact, almost three--

He suddenly spun around, and snatched his worn black Timex from its location on the table. He stared at the 3:00 position where the date proved to be the ninth. So.

It was Inuyasha's birthday. His 300th birthday.

Humming a somewhat darker and lonelier version of "Happy Birthday" to himself, the hanyou found his favorite red beanie, shoved it on over his peculiar ears, and proceeded to the door.

However, he halted just before he knocked the fat and happy Hachi out of his peaceful dog-bone-filled dreams. Inuyasha, on impulse, pulled his right foot back as if about to boot a soccer ball into a tie-breaking goal. But he stopped and set his foot back down, suddenly checking to see if there was anyone watching.

Oddly enough, he saw both Bankotsu and Jakotsu watching him from their corner. The older and larger Bankotsu seemed to give him a sour look, while Jakotsu watched with an almost sadistic curiosity.

Wait. Sadistic curiosity? Jakotsu was a simple dog, not a human. Of course, being part dog demon, Inuyasha had always tended to personify dogs by giving them human, and sometimes demon, characteristics. But still....

He shook his head and turned back to the lump of fur at his feet. He crouched down and started to roll the unconscious mutt away from the exit.

"Alright Hachi. Time to move outta my way," the hanyou grunted as he pushed the now awake, but still disoriented dog away.

Hachi rolled away and gave Inuyasha a sleepy woof before closing his eyes and returning to dreamland.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes at himself, thinking of how he had just ignored an old saying by refusing to let a sleeping dog lie. Well, people did not seem to care if they woke Inuyasha up early, so he did not think that the saying was meant to be taken literally anyway. He stood up and opened the door.

"C'mon dogs," he called, "get up and outta my room!" The three canines stared at him. Hachi gave the hanyou a look that Inuyasha could only take as "make me" before rolling over to face the other wall. Jakotsu, still a fairly young mutt, yawned, stretched, and scampered over to sit at (if not on) Inuyasha's feet. Bankotsu followed at a leisurely walk, but then continued on by and out the door. Jakotsu stared at his older brother, then barked and ran after him.

Inuyasha shook his head. Those two were just odd...but then again, wasn't he just giving them undog-like qualities in his imagination?

"Fine! You get stuck in my room for the day, Hachi!" he told the dog as he stopped out and began to close the door behind himself.

A striped lump of brown and black fur squeezed through the closing gap. Hachi immediately stuck his nose to the ground and followed after Bankotsu and Jakotsu, who had run off.

Inuyasha watched him, but his other senses became occupied with something else. His keen ears caught the echoes of footsteps in the barn as a familiar scent caught his nose.

"Ah! Inuyasha! You are already awake," she said loudly in her raspy voice. "Good morning!" she called cheerfully when he turned around to face her.

"Yeah whatever..."

"Are you ready to learn what your morning chores are?" she asked.

"As I'll ever be," he replied neutrally.

"She started to walk down the bar aisle. "The feed room is this way." He followed slowly, scuffing his paddock boots on the concrete and humming unconsciously. He could have found the room without her; it wasn't like he couldn't smell what must be several tons of hay.

Kaede led him to a room filled with grains, supplements, and, of course, hay. On the wall was a huge red and white chart that showed exactly what each of the eight horses in this barn ate and at what time. Kaede explained in detail--too much for Inuyasha's tastes--each portion of the enormous diagram.

And she went on. Inuyasha began to feel as if he was on some sort of tour as she pointed out each bin of different grain and the separate stacks of different types of hay. By the time she started explaining which supplement was used on which horse and in tandem with what other supplement, the hanyou's patience had worn thin. When she started describing in detail what part of the horse Horseshoer's Secret: Supplement for Horses affected, his patience had worn all the way through like a flimsy old cloth.

"Okay!" he said impatiently, startling the woman a bit. "I get it! I can find whatever I need to feed them. I'm not stupid you know. Besides, every damn thing in here is labeled anyway." He walked up to the chart and used it to properly fill a rubber feed tub with the name MR ROBOTO stenciled on it.

Kaede watched in silence, which made him a little uneasy. Couldn't she just leave already? Or at least not stare openly?

"Feh," he muttered to himself, deciding to ignore her as he picked up a flake of alfalfa and weighed it. He pulled stemmy hunk off the top and then weighed it again. He set the flake down next to the rubber tub and checked the wall chart again. He started on the next horse's breakfast, which would be contained within a tub labeled SERGEANT SOUSUKE.

What, like the military? He shook his head and wondered at the stupidity of racing horse names. Why the hell would anybody name an animal sergeant?

"Inuyasha?" Kaede asked from the back of the room. "What were you just humming?"

Inuyasha froze. Had he been humming? Nothing like total embarrassment to start off the day. Actually, more like total embarrassment to start his whole fucking career.

"Inuyasha?" she asked again, drawing him back to reality. "It sounded like the birthday song." She left her unspoken question hanging in the air for a long time. Thinking that he had missed the silent question, she asked, "Whose birthday is it today?"

The hanyou realized the old woman was totally clueless. She did not know that it was _his_ birthday, and probably assumed that it was a friend's birthday. She also probably assumed that he _had_ friends.

"It's _my_ birthday," he said nonchalantly. No one had ever really recognized his birthdays as very special. At least, no one except his mother. But he guessed that he had lived through enough birthdays already.

"Really?" Kaede stood up in surprise. "Well, then. I had no idea." She smiled at him like a kindly grandmother, which only succeeded in making him just that much more paranoid. "I think I have a present for you Inuyasha."

With that, she walked out of the feed room. The unsure hanyou stood in the room, surrounded by oats and molasses and orchard grass hay. With a shake of his head, to rid himself of doubts, he turned back to his work.

A few minutes later, he had filled up the tubs and had piles of hay next to them. Now he just needed to give the food to the horses.

He grabbed the hay for Mr. Roboto and stacked the rubber grain tub on top. Carrying the whole load out of the room, he walked down the aisle looking for the right stall. Most of the horses, despite watching a load of hay the size of a small child trundle by, confined themselves to the backs of their stalls. Only a tall black colt seemed to be unafraid of the hanyou, or maybe it was just because he wanted the fillies to think he was studly.

There he went again, personifying animals. He seemed to be more into that sort of thing this morning. And there he went as well, right past the stall belonging to a certain gray horse known as Mr. Roboto.

He unlatched the stall door, and let the hay slide through his arms, catching the rubber tub and then placing it gently on the floor so it would not spill. Mr. Roboto was, of course, not in his way because the horse was huddled in the back of his stall, snorting like a backfiring lawnmower.

Inuyasha rolled his eyes and left the horse's straw-filled haven, latching the door behind him.

He returned to the feed room to find Kaede waiting for him. His stomach flipped. She looked depressed, the same look he remembered from the day before. It was also the one that he knew he could duplicate, but wouldn't dare to. That look of tragedy and loss.

When they thought of Kikyou....

Kaede reached into the pocket of her alfalfa-dusted coat, and said to the suspicious hanyou, "Why don't you come her so I can give you your gift?"

Two dog-demon eyes rolled toward the rafters so they could not dart around, looking for exits. With his arms crossed over his chest, Inuyasha marched to the short aldy, cursing his height once again. Couldn't he have been just two inches taller? At least then he could have looked down on the hag, who was still smiling sadly—making him uncomfortable to no end.

When he reached her, she brought her hand out of the pocket, staring into his eyes as she handed him what at first felt like a bunch of marbles, or a pearl necklace. He broke off from her intense gaze and looked down into his palm.

It was a necklace, but not pearls. (What would he do with a pearl necklace anyway?) On a closer inspection, Inuyasha saw it was made of round wooden beads, stained a purplish-blue. An ivory-stained bead carved in the shape of a claw, or maybe a fang, separated every set of five purple beads.

"Kikyou made it," he heard Kaede's voice inform him softly. "I think she was going to give it to you, so really, it shouldn';t belong to me anyway."

Inuyasha felt his throat close up, making hum unable to choke out a response. Kaede walked away, leaving him with his gift and seven piles of horse breakfast.

He carefully lifted up the necklace and watched the reflection of his unblinking eyes in the polished surface of a bead. He could almost smell Kikyou's cool scent, lingering on the wooden creation. He could almost feel the care and love for him that she must have infused within the….

Care? Love?

I had all been a lie. And his weak heart had been fooled, so easily, so completely.

So completely that still, he loved her.

Fighting back tears for the second time in as many days, Inuyasha slipped the necklace over his silver-locked, red-capped head. He tucked it under his shirt, hiding it from view, and went back to work.


End file.
